But Seriously

Better to Give: Christmas 2011

I recently moved to a new home.  In the process, I discovered that packing is the primary reason that people hate to move--the second reason is unpacking.

There is nothing like a move to show you that you have too much stuff.

We began packing about 6 weeks before our move date.  The process began at a slow and leisurely pace. We identified things we wanted to give away and we would take a trunk-load to Goodwill, the ARC, or the Springs Rescue Mission as we identified enough to drop off.  The process seemed to be going smoothly until we took a serious look at our basement--the black hole of the house where everything seemed to end up if it was not used daily.

We discovered that we not only had too much stuff, we had shamefully too much stuff and there was no way we would be able to take all of it with us to our new home. To relieve our overstuffed state, we had a garage sale.  We sold a garage full of items--a bed, a treadmill, clothes that no longer fit, books, toys, old video games and movies.  Afterwards, we looked at our belongings: still too much stuff.

We filled a dumpster.  We filled a moving truck.  We still left some stuff behind.

I never want to be owned by that much stuff again.   I have not completely unpacked and I can see that I took too much stuff with me.  Worse, I can see "International Stuff Day," I mean "Christmas" coming around the corner.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas.  I love the reason we celebrate--the gift of Salvation through Christ Jesus.  I love parties with friends and family.  I love seeing delight in the eyes of my loved ones.  Christmas isn't the problem, stuff is.

Taking seriously Jesus' exhortation that it is "more blessed to give than to receive," I have decided to celebrate Christmas differently this year.  I want to do something radical and counter-cultural--no, I am not going to protest outside a bank--I also want to do something relevant. Who knows, you may want to join me.

This year for Christmas, I have a single Christmas gift request.  I want my loved ones to donate my gift to Children's Hope Chest.  I want to raise $1,000.00 or more for this ministry.

Children's Hope Chest feeds orphans, and that's good, but that's not all they do.  Much like Compassion International, they have child sponsorships, whereby you can meet the needs of a child in poverty and communicate with the child via letters to instill a sense of hope, but Hopechest does something else that is amazing.  Their operation in Russia actively rescues girls from the sex trade industry.  Do you know what happens to an orphan when they age out of the system in Russia?  They go to the street to look for their own job and housing.  Some of the young girls who age out in Russia are met on the street by men and women who promise them grand jobs over seas, but sell them as sex slaves.  Hopechest not only provides guidance for orphans who age out, they also actually rescue girls from brothels.

Imagine waking up Christmas morning.  Under the tree, you have a few small boxes or envelopes.  Instead of receiving some new sweaters, PJ's, ties, and maybe an electric razor, you open an envelope.  Inside the envelope is a note that tells you that $30.00 was donated in your name to feed a child.  The small box contains a note that says $100.00 was given in your name to get a girl out of a brothel.  $50.00 to support a care-point in Swaziland, $25.00 toward feeding kids in India and on and on it goes.  That's what I want for Christmas this year.  I want to try to raise at least $1,000.00 to save lives--after all, saving people is the reason Jesus came over 2,000 years ago.  Saving people is the reason for Christmas.

 Maybe, this month, you will look around your house and see if you too are "overstuffed."  If so, maybe you want to make this a year where you are more blessed to give than to receive--can I encourage you to request your gifts be given to Hopechest.org like me?  Maybe you have another favorite ministry--how much would you like to raise for them?

Some of my family are concerned that I won't have anything to open that day.  Let me assure you, I will be thrilled to open notes telling me how someone else was helped on my behalf.  I have never celebrated Christmas this way, but I am really excited (more excited than ever as an adult) for Christmas day.  Please, if you plan on giving a gift to me this year, give it through Hopechest and know that you not only brought me joy, you brought joy to someone in poverty too.

Loving as God Loves

A few days ago, I was thinking about the lofty ideal to love others as God loves us and to see others as God sees us.  On our own, it is impossible--like fitting a camel through the eye of a needle.  But with God, all things are possible.  With God, we can love beyond the capacity of our fist-sized hearts.  With God, we can see beyond the capacity of our grape-sized eyes.

My understanding of this concept deepened recently because, about a month ago, I became a foster parent to a little boy whom I plan to adopt.  Fostering isn't easy.  You cannot necessarily raise a foster child the way you are used to raising your own child because in foster care, you are a co-parent with the state and the state has opinions about how it wants its wards treated.  Of course, if we have to abide by state standards for our foster son, we cannot apply a different standard to our first son.  We have to re-learn how to parent.  Oh, and the state and I agree that we need to respect the privacy of our son.  No names will be given while he is in foster care with us and most illustrations will be twisted beyond recognition before they are published here or anywhere else.

Both of our boys are the same age. Of course we have all of the drama you would expect between brothers of a similar age, and we get to add different life experiences, different discipline standards, different hygiene standards, anger issues for a traumatized child (imagine being ripped away from your birth family for whatever reason--children in foster care are traumatized), special medical needs for our new son,a multitude of doctor appointments of every type, school discipline issues . . . well, if you can imagine all of that, you can begin to imagine how much our lives have changed.  All of this is wrapped in spiritual warfare because, as I see it, this foster-to-adopt scenario is the ONE human action that most closely resembles what God does for us.  That brings me back to my original point.

Sometimes my son (my new son) makes choices that baffle me.  Here is an adaptation of an example of a recent incident that did not happen exactly this way:  
Me--Why did you take all of your clothes out of your closet and off the hanger?
Him--I am going to pack them up and leave.
Me--I don't want you to leave.  Why do you want to leave?
Him--I don't want to go to bed at my bedtime.
Me--Do you want me to call your case worker?
Him--No.  I don't want to leave.
Me--Good.  Now put your clothes back.
Him--I can't.  There are too many.
Me--I bet you wish you never took them down. Put them back a little at a time.
Him--Can I get help?
Me--If you can convince anyone in the house to help you, you may certainly accept their help, but everyone else in the house has chores to do, so I suggest you get started on cleaning up your mess.

At times, he seems to think that it is his mission in life to create a mess for someone else to clean up.  Personal responsibility was not emphasized earlier in his life--as it was in my childhood.  What seems as clear as daylight to me is completely foreign to him.

My first thought is to recognize how alien his thinking is to my perspective.  That thought occurs a lot with me and most of the time, it is not about bedtime or clothes.  There are other behaviors we have to overcome and a couple of miracles (real miracles) we are praying about.  Anyway, the moment my mind drifts into the arena of "What in the world are you thinking?" I start to realize that this must be how God sees me.  Track with me:

1. I was raised "in the world," not in direct communion with God.
2. My standards of discipline, hygiene, right and wrong, etc are far different from God's. 
3. I was a spiritual orphan in need of a Heavenly Father.
4. He called me out of the darkness, and into His marvelous light.
5. I have to adapt to an eternal life of security, love, and grace that I did not know before him.
6. I have issues related to my time growing up in the world that I need Him to help me overcome. 

Jars of Clay made a song called, "Light Gives Heat" and at one point the lyrics read,

Will you teach us how to love;
To see the things you see;
Walk the road you walk;
Feel the pain that you feel? 
At your feet I kneel.
I want to see you shine;
See your light not mine;
'Cause light gives heat.

In raising my new son, I begin to glimpse the way God sees us when we enter His family.  When I ask God, "Why does he . . ." and am answered with, "Why do you?"  I learned a few years ago that the answer to the question "Why?" is seldom satisfying.  It is more often empty, disappointing, and discouraging. In this, I am reminded not to focus as much on what my son is doing or how to control his behavior.  Rather, like my Heavenly father, I am to be faithful in giving love and grace; and patiently focus on touching my childs heart.  I have determined that if I can reach his heart, I can change his behaviors but if I focus on changing his behaviors, I will only succeed superficially and I may never reach his heart.

We have only been fostering for just more than a month, but we are already seeing signs of trust.  I am excited to what God will do in the coming months and years.

Bonobos

I bought my first pair of Bonobos pants today.  You may have heard of them, they are men's pants cut to fit more comfortably and look more flattering.  More comfortable and better looking--we shall see.

Unlike the iPad, Bonobos are made in America by Americans.  By all of the accounts I have read, they cost more than department store khakis, but they are well worth it.  Plus, you can enjoy the comfort knowing they were not sewn in a sweatshop by orphans or widows.

They should arrive on Thursday and I should be able to give a review on Friday (certainly by Monday).  In the meantime, if you are interested in ordering, use this link to save $25.00 off any purchase of $75.00 or more.  If you are having trouble with the link, copy this into your browser address bar:

http://curebit.com/x/zMCR3

Update 03/23/12:  I really like these pants.  I bought bootleggers--khaki pants with a wide boot-cut leg. I like the fit, the feel, and the fabric.  Bonobos claim to eliminate the saggy diaper look you find with most men's slacks, and they keep their promise.  I like the  attention to little details like colored fabric for the pockets, and a quote sewn onto the inside of one back pocket.  I can't wait to wash them and wear them again.

Mercury In Your Makeup Can Make You Sick

Mercury has been found in some skin creams, antiseptic soaps and lotions that are marketed as skin lighteners and anti-aging treatments, according to a report released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

. . . Some symptoms of mercury poisoning include tremors, irritability, sudden shyness and memory problems, changes in vision or hearing, depression, and numbness and tingling in hands, feet or around mouth.

The FDA warns consumer to stop use that if words like “mercurous chloride,” “calomel,” “mercuric,” “mercurio,” or “mercury,” appear in the product labeling, and to immediately discard them in a plastic bad or leak proof container. The agency also warned that products labeled in languages other than English should also not be used.

via www.medicaldaily.com

I saw this article while browsing Quipster's blog recently. Mercury poisoning is a serious health issue. Ladies, check your make-up.

Do you know what else has mercury in it? Fluorescent light bulbs. If you use CFL bulbs in your house, be very careful when you dispose of them. If one breaks in your house, follow these clean-up procedures.

A Fluke of a Debate

Fluke:
noun
1.  an accidental advantage; stroke of good luck: He got the job by a fluke. 
2.  an accident or chance happening. 
3.  an accidentally successful stroke, as in billiards. 
Origin:
1855–60; of obscure origin; compare dial. fluke a guess

How did Sandra Fluke become the lead story on the news?  This woman and her issues are not worthy of reoccuring national headlines.  She is eclipsing tragic tornados in Tennesse.  She is  gathering more news coverage than unrest in the Middle East.  She has overtaken the Republican Primaries.

But her ascension to the national stage is no fluke.  She is an activist who was carefully picked to interrupt the national dialogue about the Governments active overreach into personal and religious liberty.  According to the Family Research Council:

Ever since her testimony about the hardships of buying $9 birth control, this Georgetown law student has become the contraception mandate's standard bearer. After some unfortunate comments from Rush Limbaugh, the debate has shifted away from religious liberty to Ms. Fluke's hurt feelings. It's been convenient controversy for the White House, which may have been at its most vulnerable point in the last three years when it decided that the pursuit of sex is more important than the protection of conscience rights. Once backed into a corner by members from both parties, the Left finally found a victim to rally around--and the media has been all too happy to oblige.

But these distractions, as helpful as they may have been to the President's cause, won't last forever. At its core, this shows the administration's pattern of trampling on religious freedom in its pursuit of a "fundamentally changed" America. What Sandra Fluke has done, in part, is draw attention back to the dangers of ObamaCare, which threatens not only our physical health but our moral well-being. Essentially, the President is demanding that religious people sacrifice their beliefs to benefit someone else's libido. Through this mandate, he suggests that unlimited sexual license is more important than faith.

via www.frc.org

 

 According to Bill O'Reilly, Fluke is a well played political pawn for the Democrats:

So, this whole deal comes back to the White House, at least indirectly. So, let's run down what we know. Sandra Fluke is a former head of the group "Georgetown University Law Students for Reproductive Justice." On February 9th, a group called "The Feminist Majority Foundation" arranged for Sandra to appear at press conference criticizing the Catholic bishops for objecting to President Obama's contraception mandate.

After that, Congressman Elijah Cummings, the former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, invited Sandra to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee. But she was turned down by the chair, Congressman Darrell Issa, because she had no expertise in the church/state subject matter.

Nevertheless, Ms. Fluke went to the hearing and afterward complained to ABC News that she had been denied. A week later, Nancy Pelosi staged a mock hearing starring Sandra. After which Rush Limbaugh made derogatory comments elevating her to left-wing martyrdom.

via www.foxnews.com

America is being played by the administration and the media.  We are being led like sheep to be sheared of our religious and individual liberties.  Sandra Fluke is not a crusader for women's rights, she is crusading to have someone else, anyone else, fund her sex habits no matter what the cost to our first amendment freedom of religion.

For more perspective, check out this article by Cathy Ruse of the Family Research Council.

Dad Arrested, Strip-Searched After Daughter Draws a Picture of a Gun in School

A Canadian father was arrested and strip-searched Wednesday after his 4-year-old daughter drew a picture of a gun in her kindergarten class.

Ontario dad Jesse Sansone told the Toronto Sun his little girl’s drawing was supposed to be him, getting monsters and bad guys. Her teacher apparently thought differently, and the school contacted child protective services. When Sansone arrived to pick his daughter up, three police officers were waiting to take him into custody.

“I’m picking up my kids and then, next thing you know, I’m locked up,” he told the Waterloo Region Record. “I was in shock. This is completely insane.”

Police questioned Sansone’s daughter and his other children, who gave a “detailed description” of a firearm supposedly located in the house and easily accessible to them, Inspector Kevin Thaler of the Waterloo Regional Police said, according to the Calgary Herald.

“The kids were scared,” Thaler. “It is a 4-year-old that we’re taking the information from, but the fact is that this disclosure was very descriptive and very alarming to the officers investigating this.”

He said the arrest was made “because it was the end of the school day” and officers felt they needed to “secure and locate the firearm.”

via www.theblaze.com

When I speak with concern about government overreach, this is the kind of thing I am talking about.

Not only did the school and police department overreact, they are so far gone in their nanny-state mentality that they can not see where they did wrong. No apologies are offered to Mr. Sansone for being publicly humiliated and detained over a 4 year old's drawing.

The school and police officials had no reason to believe Mr. Sansone was a danger to his family or others; nevertheless, they treated him like a menace to society.

If it weren't for the second amendment to the constitution, this would be happening in America.

Is Milk Really Healthy for You? - Men's Health

"Milk is a deadly poison," according to the Dairy Education Board. In fact, if you peruse this special interest group's Web site, notmilk.com, you'll find dozens of articles about the purported evils of this popular beverage. One claim, for example, is that milk from cows contains cancer-causing hormones and dairy industry dollars have kept that fact bottled up. All of which may leave you second-guessing your next sip.

However, as a nutritionist, I've found that most men thrive on milk, whether their goal is to lose fat or build muscle. So to be sure it's safe, I've investigated all the anti-milk claims, sifting through the research while also turning a critical eye to pro-milk propaganda. After all, the only agenda I have is my clients' health. The result: all your milk questions, answered.

via www.menshealth.com

Yesterday it was bad, today it is not bad, tomorrow it will be bad again . . . isn't it funny how science is constantly changing its mind? Nevertheless, I still like to drink milk.

Was the Early Church Communist?

When I graduated from college in 1989, it looked like socialism was dead. The Soviet Union-the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics-was in its death throes. In comparison, the American economy was booming, and countries around the world were beginning to liberalize their markets. After a sophomoric flirtation with socialism, I had concluded that capitalism was probably the most workable economic model. I had not resolved my lingering suspicions, however, that capitalism was immoral and that socialism was still the Christian ideal.
                Part of that impression came from biblical passages that seem to suggest as much: "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common....There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need" (Acts 4:32-35 ESV).
                Many who have read this passage have wondered if the early church was communist and the Christian ideal is communism. After all, this was the first church in Jerusalem. They were "filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly" (Acts 4:31 NIV). If they didn't get it right, who did?
                On the surface, this looks like communism, but that's a misreading. The details and context here are everything.
                First of all, modern communism is based on Marx's theory of class warfare, in which the workers revolt against the capitalists-the owners of the means of production-and forcibly take control of private property. After a while, Marx predicted, the socialist state would wither away and you'd get a communist utopia in which everyone lived in peace, harmony, and preternatural freedom. There's none of this class warfare stuff in the early church in Jerusalem, nor is private property treated as immoral. These Christians are selling their possessions and sharing freely and spontaneously.
                Second, the state is nowhere in sight. No Roman centurions are showing up with soldiers. No government is confiscating property and collectivizing industry. No one is being coerced. The church in Jerusalem was just that-the church, not the state. The church doesn't act like the modern communist state. As Ron Sider notes, "Sharing was voluntary, not compulsory."¹ In fact, sharing by definition is voluntary.

Read More at journal.equip.org

I got this article today in an e-mail. The short answer is "No" but you should read the article to get the context and understand the reasoning.

Waterworld Discovered

via www.foxnews.com

Click the link above for the full article. Apparently, with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, Scientists have discovered a planet made mostly of water--an ocean-planet, it you will.

Be Careful with that Spinbrush

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer safety update Thursday about a brand of electric toothbrushes that's been found to chip teeth, cut gums and generally wreak havoc with your face.

Injuries reported from use of the battery-powered Spinbrush toothbrush, sold by both Arm & Hammer and Crest (before 2009), include chipped or broken teeth, cuts to the mouth and gums, injuries to the face and eyes and choking hazards thanks to broken pieces.

. . . In addition, the FDA advises Spinbrush users to never bite down on the brush head while brushing and to follow all instructions and recommended replacement guidelines for the product.

via vitals.msnbc.msn.com

See the link above to read about the whole advisory.

Marine Veteran Found After 2 Days In Oregon Snow | Fox News

• . Dave Randall/Oregon State Police

  Feb. 9, 2012: Senior Trooper Don Frerichs lends a hand to Jason D. Cooper, 37, after he was discovered beneath pine boughs in an attempt to keep warm in remote area of Oregon's Douglas County.

ROSEBURG, Ore. –  A former Marine sniper who suffers from panic attacks and fled on foot following a minor traffic accident in Oregon was found after two days in the snow.

Jason D. Cooper, 37, of Temecula, Calif., was found Wednesday in a remote wooded area lying on tree branches, trying to keep warm, Oregon State Police said.

He was taken to a Roseburg hospital and transferred to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland where nursing supervisor Phyllis Riggs said he's listed in critical condition but stable condition and likely to be upgraded Friday.

via www.foxnews.com

You've got to read the whole article. Our Marines are amazing. Way to go Sgt Randall. Semper Fi.